Little and often is the best way to prepare students for the demands of GCSE English, so this task would suit y9 students as well as those doing GCSE already. Based on a paragraph of just 6 lines from William Corbett’s 1821-22 ‘Cottage Economy’, the task comprises a close reading to analyse tone, argument and structure. Being so short, this passage is an ideal ‘taster’ of a 19th century text. Students are also given a ‘typical’ reading question to consider. Feedback on the analysis is supported by the PP, which covers the whole lesson from Introduction- which also offers contextual information - to the writing task. Students use the persuasive techniques they have already learned to re-work Corbett’s argument in a modern way.

This lesson builds on the previous two Writing lessons to look at how to get top marks. The starter opens with a discussion about how students use persuasive devices and moves on to the ‘tool box’ of persuasive techniques they have. These are basically the same whatever the exam board. A handout enables the students to glue in a list of these - and what their effect is - into their books for revision purposes. The lesson PP focuses on example extracts - sentence variation and persuasive techniques - and gives tasks through which they explore how the writing is crafted. Their homework requires them to write a short piece on the same topic as their extract in timed conditions. You could spend another lesson peer assessing work and using the checklists to look for criteria, proof reading and editing as you go.

These 7 ice-breakers are fun, easy to administer and also help you get to know the class and them to get to know each other. You need a soft ball, a timer and maybe some music. The PP has icons hyperlinked to the activity explanation. 4 of the tasks need no resources. The ‘bingo’ sheet, 'tell us’cards and the ideas for ‘get in line’ are all provided for printing before the lesson. Suitable for tutor or subject lessons.

This series is a question by question guide to the non-fiction paper, starting with reading. Each question begins with a ‘quick-fire starter’ when the technique required by the question is practised in its simplest form, usually a very visual text. This gives students confidence. It also keeps the time pressure on so that working quickly becomes a habit. Then the question requirements are explored through the exam board’s directives and again quick and easy examples with answers build up to more demanding practise through the series. Visual texts and Extracts of both 19th century and 21st century texts are used in the series to ensure students are undaunted by older texts. In all cases answers and a simplified mark scheme are provided. Although this series is preparing students for the Eduqas Component two English paper, it can easily be adapted to suit the question style of other exam boards: all have retrieval questions, inference questions etc. The focus of this resource is A2. A quick-fire starter gets students using the technique they need for the question on a simple visual task. The 'how to' PP looks more closely at the question's requirements and offers quick guided practise. The focus then shipts to how to formulate the gathered information into a 10mark answer. A sample answer is provided as well as a simplified, student-friendly marking memo that can be used for all the 10mark questions in this paper. Because work has been simplified to ensure a firm foundation, this task is also suitable for y9s beginning their GCSE work early.

Here’s a starter pack for a successful year ahead. The PP can be adapted to suit, but sets out expectations for the year. Share your class rules with an easily remembered graphic: the hand. Comes with a script and 1st lesson ideas. To fight ignorance, instigate a ‘quote of the month’ that students copy and then explain – whether verbally or written is up to you. Not only does this make them think a bit, model crafted sentences and inspire, but they get to ‘vaguely recognise’ names they should become familiar with. There are two sets of quotes to use on alternate years so that if you teach the same students again you don’t repeat quotes. Finally, for that desperate moment when you need to buy a bit of time, or as a treat after hard work, a ‘word walk’ PP to get them thinking about vocabulary and spelling. Just add a 'word of the week' found by students and your battle against ignorance can begin.

This series is a question by question guide to the non-fiction paper, starting with reading. Each question begins with a ‘quick-fire starter’ when the technique required by the question is practised in its simplest form, usually a very visual text. This gives students confidence. It also keeps the time pressure on so that working quickly becomes a habit. Then the question requirements are explored through the exam board’s directives and again quick and easy examples with answers build up to more demanding practise through the series. Visual texts and Extracts of both 19th century and 21st century texts are used in the series to ensure students are undaunted by older texts. In all cases answers and a simplified mark scheme are provided. Although this series is preparing students for the Eduqas Component two English paper, it can easily be adapted to suit the question style of other exam boards: all have retrieval questions, inference questions etc. The focus of this resource is A3 & A4. The questions are largely similar, though slightly more demanding that A1 & A2, which is why they have been done together. Because work has been simplified to ensure a firm foundation, this task is also suitable for y9s beginning their GCSE work early.

These are the 100 words the DfE claims primary pupils should be able to spell in y3/4 – of course older pupils could do with a bit of revision too. They are divided into groups of five and after five groups there’s a test, But here’s the difference… Being dyslexic myself, I’ve written the words out in a way that makes learning them easier for others with a similar condition – by looking for patterns and words within words – without being a problem to good spellers. Use as a weekly homework, a fill-in starter while you call the register or an occasional filler for a quick worker. At the end of the list there’s a revision opportunity and words to find in a string of letters along with some unscrambling to do. Work is set out for ease of printing/photocopying and teacher’s answers are on the last pages of each set (week 1-5)– print or project as suits. A PP gives end of list answers to the strings and unscrambles. If you do these with older students, just do remember to remove the ‘year’ label with each test to avoid embarrassing them. 6 downloads gives you 5 weeks of daily spelling, 5 tests and 2 revision activities, all self-mark and dyslexia friendly!

The best way to revise unseen poetry is by doing trial exam papers, so here is one in which students compare a sonnet by Sir Philip Sidney with a sonnet by Christina Rossetti. A pp enables you to display instructions while handing out the papers and while doing the peer assessment. Indicative content is given to this end as is a student friendly summary of the bands. Two lessons worth of work here, or a homework and a lesson, plus lots of discussion and revision opportunities.

Something for older students: the lesson begins with a halloween word builder, with answers to self-mark; then there is a reading phase, where students are told about three different divination rites associated with traditional Halloween games. Students will choose one of these as a vehicle for their horror story. Next, they read 4 extracts describing horrific moments, to glean words and phrases they can use, as well as to see there is no need to be gratuitously graphic to create horror. Able and eager students can get straight on with writing, while a work sheet puts the lesson into perspective with 5 clear steps to follow as a planning stage for the story. For those who don't know how to begin, a line from either reading extract [divinations or extracts] will set them on course.

Shakespeare Day this year has the added thrill of marking 400 years since the Bard’s death [or 452 since his birth!]. To help you mark the anniversary, here’s a ‘Where’s Will?’ competition with quotes, student fill in sheets and an answer sheet. Set up the competition school wide, departmentally or as a class activity to get students reading quotes and finding where the action is set. The competition is really easy – its merit is exposure – participants have to find the posters, read a quote and be alert to where the action is set. At the very least they’ll have heard of a few more plays. This activity is easy enough for upper primary pupils. That’s just one activity. On the quotes PP you have a template you can send to students and colleagues on which they can write their favourite Shakespeare quotes [even if it is from the play they are currently studying] to display around the school. Primary pupils could display insults they've generated. Each subsequent slide can be printed [on coloured A3?] to make a display for the classroom or to boost the display around the school. Longer term, there is the set of starter quotes that could introduce students to Shakespeare’s language, as a Shakespeare ‘quote of the half-term’, or for 6 lessons in April… the idea is to get students to think about both the literal and figurative meaning of memorable lines, as well as expose them to a wider range of plays. The ‘fill-in’ version allows you to set the whole task as a one off lesson activity or a self-mark homework. For anyone who has missed the lesson, quotes and answers are available as a paper version too. The Teachers' Guide also provides useful links and ideas. Enjoy a super Shakespeare Day!

5 weeks worth of daily spelling activities and self-mark tests! These are the 100 words the DfE claims primary pupils should be able to spell in 5/6 – of course older pupils could do with a bit of revision too. They are divided into groups of five as 'week 1' etc. with a test at the end of each week. Standard practice, but here’s the difference… Being dyslexic myself, I’ve written the words out in a way that makes learning them easier for others with a similar condition – by looking for patterns and words within words – without being a problem to good spellers. Use as a weekly homework, a fill-in starter while you call the register or an occasional filler for a quick worker. At the end of the list there’s a revision opportunity and words to find in a string of letters along with some unscrambling to do. Some y3-4 words are revisited in the last lists and tests. Tests are also designed to promote proof-reading skills, with 'you be the teacher' adding fun to the process - red pens work wonders here and cut your workload to quick checking , rather than marking. Work is set out for ease of printing/photocopying and teacher’s answers are on the last pages of each set – print or project as suits. A PP gives end of list answers to the strings and unscrambles. Y5&6 have an additional task – words to fill into a script, similar to SATs tests. If you do these with older students, just do remember to remove the ‘year’ label with each test.

This differentiated quiz has 5 direct question as an easy round 1, 'connect 4' as round 2, round3 is 'odd-one-out', round 4 is 'true or false' while word-games will make round 5 slightly longer. the quiz itself will take 20-30 minutes allowing for team discussion, writing of answers and then marking, but it could easily take all lesson depending on the time you allow for the word-games: base that on the interest and ability of the class. Once the quiz has been marked there is the film story writing extension to ensure this fills a lesson, if not more. Further lessons can be spent reading each other's openings and outlines, pitching the best as S&L and then debating which should be made. Who knows, some may even be inspired to make their movies, in time for a Christmas viewing, it does happen when a group of students are keen on movie making in their own time.

The penultimate cluster of resources for this excellent novel. Activities range from PEA paragraphs, creative and autobiographical writing to report writing. Inference and analysis are the key skills practised and even spelling is covered. Teacher notes outline lesson ideas and in some cases task options to suit different class types. At least 4 lessons worth of material.

Assuming you are reading with this brilliant novel with your class in part of the lesson [the chapters are very short] there is something for five lessons, each focusing on both a chapter and a skill. Retrieval and synthesis are practised by writing a police report, while in other tasks sayings, titles, structure and implications are explored through starters, plenaries and PEAL paragraphs. Each task builds on skills visited in previous tasks so that they become familiar and increasingly independent strategies.

Because students work on paper and answers can be printed off so that no computer is needed, this differentiated work is ideal to set as last minute cover . The first set of tasks is linking words with their opposites, choosing from words provided, so that no cumbersome dictionaries are needed, though they can be used if desired. For those who finish that, there is a crossword puzzle. This contains clues from across the ability range, encouraging different abilities to work together and extending mid-ability students.

Ideal for a last minute cover lesson, this task has a separate SEN version of the lesson, but also tasks get more demanding as they go, enabling non-specialist to use differentiation by work covered. Beginning with couplet descriptive sketches choosing words from a box, writing focuses of visual the auditory descriptions. Examples are given throughout, with quoted extracts to stimulate ideas. As a bonus, two extra photographs can be used to repeat the final written task at a later date as exam practice or to provide variety.

Everything you need for a dynamic revision lesson! The lesson plan sets out each step with space for you to fill in your timings. There are 36 quotes to give your students choice and variety - ideal for popping into a ‘hat’ - all with their words in alphabetical order: students have to try to recognise and reconstruct the quote. Poems are identified for those who need help. The next step is to annotate the quote with AOs 2, 3 & 5, then glue it onto A3 for another student to add AO4 texts. Next round, students add AO2, 3 & 5 to those links. Students can photograph the final product on their phones as handy ‘night before’ revision notes - and all this is explained in clear step by step instructions to the students via the Power Point, which has a clear starter, with answers, the main activity explained, a plenary and even a home work task! What’s not to like?!

Here's a little something to challenge your top students: persuasion the classical way. The Ancient Greeks worked out how a persuasive speech should be structured to make it effective, Shakespeare played around with the form in many of his most famous speeches and even Barack Obama's speech writers follow the formula. Along with their connectives and persuasive devices, give your most able a tried and tested structure to lift their persuasive writing above the ordinary. There's a handout explaining the structure, a PP to test it's been understood and a worksheet to guide preparation for students to write their own speeches.

Pollination: Useful for revision with a weaker class, but a great way to challenge a more able one. Students look at photographs of pollinators at work – really look – and try to consider the implications of what they are seeing. This can be done in teams or individually. 4 slides show insect, bird and wind pollination and one has a quote from Darwin as an extra challenge. Then the same pollinators are shown with commentary and some extra information designed to provoke discussion and spark interest. This gives the opportunity for the class to discuss the implications of what they notice. [If this is done as a cover lesson, the non-specialist teacher could draw up a list of questions generated by students to put to the teacher for next lesson]. The lesson ends with a 2 question test as a plenary to sum up what has been learned. To accommodate differentiation there are the extra challenges and additional information for more able students, as well as a fill in grid with some given information for the less able or slow writers. The stunning photos in the Power Point are presented in Word for printing off as A4 or A3 posters for display.

Ideal task for World Space Week! Cover it! Descriptive writing, photo prompt, differentiated w/s, all printed, suits non-specialist. Sometimes you need a class just to get on with it, or you're supplying cover at short notice for a non-specialist - this series covers those times when it needs to be plain and simple on paper, but nonetheless needs to be worthwhile and relevant. In this task students have a picture and have to write a story inspired by it. There are 3 different levels - the simplest provides a frame and even some words to trace for those who can't write legibly and need help coming up with ideas. The next level up has just the prompts and the most able are challenged to go further with some story openings to inspire their creativity. The topic of this exercise is SPACE.